(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to in-flight aircraft entertainment systems. More particularly it relates to a receiver station capable of receiving broadcast entertainment signals on-board an aircraft during flight, wherein the broadcast signals originate from a plurality of different program providers.
(b) Description of Related Art
Communications satellites generally orbit the earth at the same relative rate of speed as the earth's rotation. Satellites in such an orbit are referred to as geo-stationary. They appear to remain substantially fixed in relation to a specific point on earth, such as a ground-based satellite antenna/dish, thus enabling satellites to relay uninterrupted signals from one point on the earth's surface to another.
Although analog television communication satellites have been used for many years to relay television signals between remote locations, it was only recently that commercially viable direct-to-home broadcast satellite systems were developed for direct delivery of satellite broadcast television programming to viewers in their homes. One such direct-to-home satellite television broadcast system is the DSS.RTM. digital satellite television system utilized by the DIRECTV.RTM. broadcast service. At a satellite uplink facility, television programming signals are digitized, packetized, multiplexed with other digital signals, compressed (if required), mated with error correction codes, modulated on a carrier and uplinked to a geostationary satellite. The satellite receives the uplinked digital bitstream and rebroadcasts it over a footprint that preferably covers at least the continental United States. Receiver stations, which are typically ground-based, receive the digital bitstream of data packets from the satellite. The receiver stations include an antenna, which preferably is in the form of an 18-inch satellite dish. The antenna feeds the received digital bitstream to an integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) unit that recovers the transmitted bitstream and converts the television programming content of the bitstream to television programming signals capable of being displayed on a conventional NTSC television display device.
Aircrafts typically include some form of electronic distribution system for controlling and coordinating the distribution throughout the aircraft of electronic communications such as seat lighting commands, attendant call commands, audio announcements, and audio/video entertainment signals. In many recently developed systems, data communications such as video game software or menus of the available aircraft services may also be distributed.
A typical aircraft communication system includes a headend area, a signal distribution network, and a plurality of peripheral stations consisting primarily of passenger seat stations or terminals. In general, the headend is located at the front of the aircraft cabin, and provides, inter alia, a central location for the assembly of the entertainment related signals/services that are transmitted to passenger terminals via the aircraft's signal distribution system. If the communication signals relate to entertainment services, the aircraft communication system is often referred to as an in-flight entertainment (IFE) system.
A typical headend of an IFE system includes sources for video and related audio, audio unrelated to the video, and entertainment data such as game software and/or menu data. The audio source can include audio tape players (digital and analog), compact disk (CD) players, and other similar devices. The video source can include conventional video tape players (digital and analog), conventional video disk players, and other similar devices.
The data source can be a conventional hard or floppy disk storage medium and a conventional computer. The assignee of the present invention has developed an inflight entertainment system that incorporates a satellite signal receiver station. The in-flight receiver station receives television signals broadcast from a satellite, and the aircraft's signal distribution system distributes the received television programming to passengers. Various aspects of the above-referenced system are disclosed in several co-pending U.S. patent applications, including application Ser. No. 08/667,222, filed Jun. 19, 1996, entitled "Airborne Satellite Television System"; application Ser. No. 08/667,225, filed Jun. 19, 1996, entitled "Distribution Of A Large Number Of Live Television Programs To Individual Passengers In An Aircraft"; and application Ser. No.08/667,224, filed Jun. 19, 1996, entitled "Distribution Of Satellite Television Programs To Passengers In An Aircraft When It Is Out Of Range Of The Satellites". The entire disclosures of above-referenced co-pending patent applications are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety.
Although the above-referenced patent applications describe advantageous systems, they are not designed for or intended to address the situation where there are several potential sources of broadcast signals in a given geographic area, or where the aircraft moves from the coverage area of one signal transmitter to the coverage area of a second different signal transmitter. Accordingly, there is a need for an in-flight aircraft entertainment system having a receiver station capable of receiving entertainment signals broadcast from several different program providers.